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Friday Five Interview: Mark Buchanan

The teacher and former pastor talks transitions, inciting riots, and writing.

For today's entry in the Friday Five interview series, we catch up with Mark Buchanan.

Mark Buchanan is an author, professor, and blogger. His latest book is Your Church Is Too Safe.

Today we chat with Mark about transitions, taking risks, and seasons of life.

You've recently moved out of the pastorate into a teaching position. What has this new season of life brought you?

Time. The rhythms of academic life are dramatically different from the pastorate. Here, things start, and 3 months later they stop. In between are long stretches of breathing room. In pastoral ministry, there is no end point, no finish line: nothing really concludes. And here, if you have a bad class, they all disperse after 3 months. In the pastorate, if you have a bad congregation—do I need to finish that sentence?

I'm enjoying this new rhythm—luxuriating in it, really. The extra time means: I'm home most evenings, have more time to write and travel, spend more time with family and friends, get more exercise, and feel more ...

March
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